Torn and Mended
by Breathlessly Wicked
Summary: Post book2. When Nudge figures out the code and finds everyone's parents guess who's left parentless? After parting with all of the flock one by one, Max mus find a porpose, someone to help her. What happens when she finds another Avain American? Rated T
1. Ripped Apart

_Ok, this is really stupid cause I've only read to book two of the MR series so bare with me. My library sucks and my Borders just got robbed so they're closed. I know who robs a book store the day after New Years, I was very sad. So I guess there can't really be any spoilers seeing as everyone know more than me! -huffs- Well, I'll get over it when I have the next book in my hands J . _

_Siy Rowling?_

_(Chapter One)_

**Max P.O.V**

God, I was so tired, but I knew I wouldn't get any sleep. Not until I got the stupid chip out of my arm! Fang looked over his shoulder at me, we were in a loose formation just for the heck of it, I guess. A few seconds latter he pulled back a few feet away from me.

"Something up?" He cocked his eyebrow, man that was so cool, and he would show me how to do it either! I just shrugged and floated up on a warm updraft, ahh.

It was probably almost eleven at night, and he Flock looked dead tired. "Hey, let's land on that cave up ahead, due northeast." I said the coordinates automatically, Iggy nodded, showing me he understood. And one by one, we swooped into the dark. . . Bat cave? We all sprawled out on the cold stone, I couldn't say I didn't notice the fact that Fang nudged a little closer to the bats than the rest of us; always curious. I chuckled lightly.

I did a silent head count, _One _Fang was watching as the bats take off from over him with interest _Two, Three _Iggy and Gazzy were huddled over what I could only guess was a new experiment, _Four _Angel was talking with Total about how Celeste's dress show lay on her little bear figure, _Five _Nudge was decoding the papers she should have just left behind that we found in the Itex computer.

My Flock, I didn't even need parents as long as I had my family. Though it hurt sometimes, the fact that I was probably a test tube baby, it was better than the Flocks sad stories. I didn't have any past to hold me back, I could only look to the road ahead, wow, I was Max the Fortune Cookie today! There was a sharp intake of breath on the other side of the cave, my head jerked up without my telling it.

"You guys, I think I found something." Nudge's voice was cracking, Iggy and Angel were the first to romp over to her side. Me and Fang shared a wary look and then followed the others to crowd around Nudge.

_Maximum, take the papers, take them NOW. This isn't supposed to happen. Maximum this is serious, Damn it Max listen to me! _I ignored the voice and listened as Nudge explained it.

"I think Fang had it right, but kind of off." Nudge said. Oh no, looking for the parents again, hadn't we just gotten over that?!

"How so?" I found myself asking, Nudges eyes where blood shot like she was about to cry.

"We were so close! We need a world map." Iggy guiltily dropped a pile of mapps on Nudegs lap, I gave him a questioning glance, that was completely wasted on the blind guy.

"I was bored and thought about making paper bombs is all. New prototype." Iggy explained, I didn't push any more, knowing I would ask latter. Nudge grabbed the world map and started marking coordinates. They were all in the U.S. of cores. She got out a pen and put the first letter of each of our names next to the pinpointed location, everyone had one. . . Except for me.

That was how it all began, the next day we headed to the nearest coordinates. North Carolina. It was Gazzy and Angels home, it was a huge white mansion that looked like it could hold twenty million people.

Angel, Gazzy, Total and I walked to the door, a man who looked to be the butler opened the door. Turns out, it was their grandma who handed them over to the School, the blonde couple who had only been in their early twenties at the time, had known nothing about it until it was over and the kids had all ready been shipped off to Cali.

Their parents welcomed them home with open arms, even after the wings. . . And the talking dog, I stuck around just to make sure. The kids both gave me huge hugs and then were off to bond with their parents.

I stepped out of the house dazed slightly. Fang was by my side in a second as was Iggy, I told them the whole story, we even stayed the rest of the day just to make sure nothing like the Iggy fiasco happened again. Both kids seemed happy and. . . Normal, I guess you could say.

The next day we were off to the next nearest location, Arizona. It was Iggy's house. All of us were unsure about it so we all went to the door with him.

His aunt answered, she was on her knees crying as soon as she saw Iggy's face. The house was a regular town house, brick and all that homey junk. Iggy's story was, he was taken away from his parents after they were deemed "unfit" to have children, and right before his Aunt ,on his moms side, got custody of him, Jeb took him and he was off to the School.

The same procedure, and the same result, Iggy was happy and his wings weren't a problem, at around two we flew off, me carrying Nudge, since she had crashed at twelve. This was getting eerie, It felt like someone was ripping apart my family. But I knew they would be happier, so we went to the next nearest place, Nudges coordinates.

We ended up in Idaho, the house was quant I. . . Guess. It was painted a kind of purple-ish red and the shingles were black, an old man answered the door, he had a Santa Clause beard and had the same coco/mocha skin that Nudge had except he had wrinkels. It was her grandpa, her mother had died giving birth to her and her father had run out on her after he found out she was worth nothing and his wife was dead. The School had intercepted her transport to her grandparents house since they were too old to travel by plane and Nudge had been sent to the hell hole.

Her grandparents only seemed happier when she unfurled her wing and walked around like a model, posing and winking. I don't even think Nudge realized we were their after she hugged her grandma, who smelled _way _too strongly of lavender and smoke. . . Like campfires maybe. They where out in the middle of no where after all, so I guess that was normal.

We didn't bother to stay the extra day.

Fang and I bunkered down in a tree, nothing too fancy. I didn't get any sleep that night, neither did Fang, I think. Both of us knew what was coming next, it made me want to throw up right then and there. I was sick. Not high fever I have to go to the hospital sick, more I forgot the ending to this book and it's hitting me twice as hard as the last time I read it.

The last stop was so obvious it was kind of funny, New York. Of cores! That's why Fang's all stalker-ish and had a bad attitude, it all made sense now! I flew slowly when we got to a small apartment building. It wasn't horrible, at least not as bad as some of the places I'd been in New York. Ha. Memories.

Once we got to room 3A Fang glanced at me. I smiled encouragingly. He rang the buzzer.

A few seconds later a voice from the other side of the door asked, "Yes?" In a musical voice that could only belong to a women.

"Um. . . I have someone you might like to meet." I stated, I heard a gasp and then, a minute latter, after I heard a few locks being grinded unlocked, the door almost flew off of it's hinges, behind it was a lady, she had dark brown almost black hair, like Fang, deep blue eyes and tanned skin. She looked shocked. Obviously she was in her twenties.

One second all was silent and then she pounced on Fang, all but choking him.

"This is-" I was interrupted, with a happy chime voice.

"I know my Conner when I see him! This my son. Where have you been? Who is she? What's going on? Oh god I missed you." She ushered Fang in, I wouldn't say she. . . Well all right she didn't give a da- I mean schnitzel about me. The reason I know that is, one second Fang is hugging his mom, the next the door is slammed in my face. Fang did even protest, he forgot. He forgot already. Two seconds and I'm no one.

I waited for a second, and then I was off. I looked around for the exit, usually I would have done a quick head count, which I did do, out of habit. I winced when I counted. _And then there was one._

I trudged into the cold darkness of the street and then I blended with the crowd. One girl with ragged hair, red rimmed eyes and a bulky hoodie was probably the most normal person who would find in the streets of New York. Which is one reason why I'll never go there again.

I knew I had a chip in me, I knew the Erasers would find me eventually, take me back to the School and I would end up dead in an isolation tank. . . For real this time. So I did that one thing I knew I did best. I flew. My super speed really did come in handy some times. I didn't know where I was going. I didn't have anywhere _too _go. So I went back to where it all started, Cali-forn-i-a.

I wasn't just going to do nothing. I was on a mission. I was going to bomb the School.

**~`~`~**

I was exhausted, I was on the cliff over looking Death Valley. A Flock of Raptors flew through the sky just over head. Probably the very same ones that saved my life back at the School not even half a year ago.

But that didn't occur to me until latter, the only thing I saw was a pair of black wings that glimmered red in the sunlight. One second it was among the Raptors the next it was being ambushed by a bunch of Erasers. I jumped up out of natural instinct and I pushed as hard as I could to get to the unrepentant black wings. I didn't even have a chance to look at the face of the person I was helping before I went into combat mode.

"You know." I said in a sharp voice, so sharp it probably felt like a razor slowly sliding across the Erasers throat, good, "Eight on one isn't very fair, but I'm sure I can help even that out."

The next thing was a bit odd, I jumped into the middle of the ring of Erasers and was back to back with the black wings.

"Who the hell are you?" A male voice hissed. I just shrugged.

"Not sharing time yet, little Timmy." I lunged for the Eraser in front of me. Not a very big one either. I roundhouse kicked one of the five that had cornered me alone. The person I was helpings served out some awesome high kicks, but not a lot of fist action.

I dove a little and then came up on the other side of a strong looking Eraser, folding its wings together, hard, I watched momentarily, it's fall into the lake bellow.

"Duck!" I did as the voice commanded, a leg went over my crouching figure, I saw and Eraser fall below, that had to hurt. The boy, -I realized- that was now my combat partner, was oblivious to an Eraser who was coming up behind him.

"Switch." I said hastily, we grabbed each others hands and spun around in a millisecond basically we switched "partners" so to speak. I gave the Eraser in front of me a good one, two kick, in the groin just for fun and I turned when I hear a frantic voice say, " DIVE!"

Our hands still clinging together, we dove about forty feet before shooting back up again. Two Erasers had planned on bashing us together, but they had run into each other instead. The last Eraser, a male, who looked quite big, looked at both of us and then. . . Bolted.

I was sweating and breathing heavily. The boy was doing the same. I directed him towards the cliff I had been sulking and planning evil bombing things at.

We landed on our hands and knees, panting and choking on laughter. After a second I realized our hands were still intertwined, we looked at each other and simultaneously, we collapsed beside each other.

"Max." I said, "I'd shake your hand but, I can't move."

"Zane." He stated sandy brown hair covering some of his right eye only slightly, "Same here. Nice switch back there by the way."

"I know, but that dive thing, hilarious. But the best part was-" At the same time we said.

"The look on the last guys face!" We laughed for what seemed like hours but was probably only minutes.

"You remind me of someone, who used to be in my Flock." I chocked on my own words, that was it, I wanted to break down, but Maximum Ride does _not _break down. So I swallowed my past emotions and waited for Zane's reaction.

"You mean there are more. . . People, like us?! That's. . . Fan-freakin' tastic." Zane was happy for a moment before he looked away. We were both so tired we didn't bother to move. I could feel his hand clench a little around mine.

"What?" It was weird. My relationship with Zane. If there even was one! I felt. . . Connected to him. In a weird way.

_Max, you need to leave, get out of there and leave Zane behind. Right. Now. He was sent by Itex Max! _

'What?' I asked in both realities.

"I escaped from the School, a couple of months ago. But before I left, I was able to figure out something, well actually, one of _my _flock members found out something. They're going to have us fight, they're going to attack us themselves. And whoever comes out on top is the high Avian I suppose. They want one left standing." His words shocked me so much that I shot upright, never releasing his hand. Zane slowly sat up as well.

"What happened to your flock?" I asked, although, I was pretty sure I knew the answer already. I prayed, and prayed it was different, I even swore I would go to church if it was a different answer. But it wasn't, it never was.

"They were picked off, one by one. I'm the only one left." He said dazedly, then when he snapped back to reality, he looked over at me warily, "What happened to yours."

"You're lucky." I whispered, Zane looked at me as if I were insane. He was lucky, so lucky. "Your flock, didn't leave you, they stayed until the end. My flock went away. One by one. And I had to be the one to hug them goodbye and then leave. I had to whatch them leave me and forget about me. God they did it willingly!"

All was silent in the ever mood changing cave. It had gone from 'hi my name is' to, '. . . and when I was six I had pink eye!' Apparently I had a way with making people talk. That was. . . Interesting.

"I'll make camp." Was all he said, and then flew off to go find some firewood. He knew what I wanted to do, and he knew that I couldn't do it in front of him. I let both my tears and my blood spill. Emo Max coming at 'cha. Yep that's right, we all thought it was going to be Fang -wince- but look who it is! I cut myself, it was clear to Zane when he got back, but he just looked at me with understanding eyes, eyes that said it all. His hazel golden eyes that said I could do whatever I wanted, I could be as emo or goth or intelligent or a leader or a follower and he would still look at me with those know understanding eyes. That was the moment I knew I could live n ok life without the flock, the moment I knew, I could be Maximum Ride without my gang.

No words were shared for the rest of the night, but so much was said it wasn't funny. With just a nod or a gleam of the eyes, we understood each other. By the end of the long night, it had been assessed that we had both been leaders of our flocks and we were both mourning, but we could get over it.

I hoped the flock, -wince- was ok and happy. And I knew, I needed therapy. Why? Simple answer. I was being a freaking fortune cookie! God.

Zane and I slept back to back curled up on our sides. That was when my voice decided to have a nice little chat with me.

_Max, you can't do this. The flock needs you. They need to be with you Max, not those fools they call guardians. They can't even save them from Erasers! Max. This isn't what's supposed to happen. You're supposed to save the world. You're supposed to keep to the plan. _

'No, I don't need anyone. If anything, all I need is to know the flock, -wince- is happy.'

_You would be a wreck if you hadn't found Zane and you know it. Now Go. Get. The. Flock. _

'So you're admitting Zane helped me, and is till helping me, and you want me to leave him? Shallow voice, very shallow.' I started to shrug off the voice and before I knew it, I wasn't conscious anymore. The last words I could make out from the voice where something along the lines of.

_Maximum, if only you knew. The flock needs you._

I turned over and fell into a deep sleep.

*****Chapter End*****

_Yeah, so there you go. I need one review to tell me it doesn't suck, which I know it has some suckish parts. All will be explained in the next chapter a couple months later, from the flocks P.O.V_

_Siy Rowling?_


	2. Tag

_Wow. I got more than one review! That's. . . A first! I love ya'll, thank you everyone. I appreciate everyone's review. Even if you didn't review and you just read or you're just starting now, I understand, I don't usually read a fic unless there's more than one chapter so, feel free to review for this chapter too! All right. I'm going to take a poll and give me your answer in your review if you want._

_Do you like Zane better than Fang right now? _

_Y:0_

_N:0_

_You'll get why I did that in the next chapter or so. I'll do another poll then. J _

_Siy Rowling?_

_(Chapter Two)_

_**Fang P.O.V- (Eight Months Later) **_

'_Thwact' The door clicked closed, the last thing I saw was Max, standing there; like she had finally been hit my realization. My mother smothered me in hugs and -ugh- kisses. Seeing as she was wearing work clothes and lip stick. I guessed she was about to head to work by the time I had come._

"_Oh, I'm so glad you're here! Connor,-" She was interrupted by a cell phone, she stopped, looked at the caller ID and picked up. "Hello, Marcel Hugh speaking. Yes, oh, really? The subway was flooded so I'll be late today. Thanks Cloe. Yeah, uh huh. Buh bye." _

_I looked up at her, confused. Late? Today? Cloe? _

"_Sorry honey. But I have to be off. So. Wow. This is so weird. Umm. Make yourself at home. I only have one bed so you can have the couch. I don't have a T.V so. . . Entertain yourself as best you can! And I'll see you at ten thirty. Love you. Buh bye!" With that she skipped past me, grabbed her jacket and was gone. _

I shot up, it was a recurring night mare. Not just a nightmare, but the reality of what had happened the day eight months ago when I had found my mother. I had never explained my story to her and I hadn't shown her my wings yet. And she kept calling me Connor.

When she had come home that night, she had declared that I could be going to school. And when I had asked her what name she had done it under she just looked at me kind of like I was stupid and stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"_Your name silly goose! Conner Hugh. Has a right to it don't 'cha think?!" _

She had sounded like a giddy school girl -which I knew from experience- when she had who just had her first kiss or something. She wouldn't call me Fang, only Conner. Just because she said it was 'An unfit name for someone so handsome. Whoever gave me that name should rethink their priorities.' or something like that.

Sometimes she would come home and she would jut collapse on the couch, I didn't dare sleep in her bed, out of respect, and the fact that my mother scared the living crud out of me. Sometimes she would through a tantrum and other times she wouldn't come home for days, saying she was at a 'friends' house. Bull.

I was alone in school, but at least I didn't have to wear a uniform this time. I did have a fan group and a girl that stalked me and bragged about it. Everyone seemed ok with me being silent at their lunch table, so on and so forth. But when I got home it was heck, the apartment was never clean and food was always scarce, hey, I sounded like a narrator on animal planet! Grr.

I thought about the flock all of the time. But I tried not to. I would get so distracted that, one time, I rammed into a telephone pole. I had mother, I had a normal life, a roof over my head every night, the same bed/couch, I even had an Itex free day! All in all. I should have been happy.

I wasn't even close to it. I needed to get out of this hell hole, and soon.

_**Max P.O.V- (Eight Months Later)**_

I gasped as I saw the flap of cloth again. I ran in between snow crusted trees, my heavy hot breath caught in the Boston chill leaving the moister hanging in the air around my mouth. I heard a twig snap in the next row of trees over, I ducked under the next row in the opposite direction, almost plowing over and loose shrub.

As I scrambled under the sharp trees I looked for an escape, only way out was up. I was dead. Crap. But I would go down swinging! I looked for an easy to defend place.

It had been eight months since I had given up my family, but it didn't seem that way to me. I felt. Happy, I guess you could say. Happy that they had parents, happy that they had normal lives, and most of all, happy that I had found Zane, not long after I had been left by the others.

Just as I came to a grove of trees that were so close together that I couldn't crawl under them. Trapped like a rabbit in a cage. I jerked my head around just in time to see a blur jump to tackle me.

I tried to fight but knew it was too late, I had been caught. I looked up into the face of my captor.

"Tag, you're it." Zane whispered, lips only inches from my ear. I huffed and would have punched him in the arm if I hadn't have been pinned down.

The air between us was growing thick, I looked at his comforting eyes, well I think that's what comforting is, usually I was the one dishing that shit out like there was no tomorrow.

"I think my butt is getting frost bite." I murmured, Zane smiled and lifted himself off of me. We were in Boston to find out more about Itex. We had been collecting information about Itex from all over the world, we had just gotten back to the states. We had yet to figure out where the main head quarters of Itex were, but we had come close to finding so many times it wasn't even a good joke anymore. But I knew we would find them soon.

"Hotel or park bench?" He asked slinging his head to the left so that his hair was out of his face.

"Hotel." We agreed simultaneously. It had been months and months of benches and gang head quarters and hobo subways and -my personal favorite- a former birthday party clowns attic! We got money sometimes, but mostly we were big on the 'five finger discount' usually I didn't condone that kind of stuff, but we were both mature mutant bird kids, so we knew when enough was enough.

I saw Zane turn and I jumped up, punching him lightly on the shoulder and taking off, my laugh was caught in the wind and carried to his ears.

"You're it!"

**~`~`~**

I plopped down on the weird smelling hotel sheets next to Zane. He had the laptop we had recently "acquired" at a local Best Buy, very smoothly. Ok, we were dorks and decided that we needed to know news and stuff from the road and/or sky.

"What cha doing?" I asked casually, he shrugged and began typing again. I couldn't help it I was bored, so what else to do than annoy your partner in crime/??? I really wasn't sure what else he was, but he was something, most definitely.

"Looking at this blog that someone said I should check out." He replied in a bored voice, obviously not very interesting. But I stole a glance at it anyway.

**Welcome to Fangs' Blog**

**Date: Too Depressed to Care**

**You are Visitor Number: This thing Broke a Long Time Ago.**

**Hey readers old and new. Still in New York with **

**my mom. I know not nearly as exciting as saving **

**the world with my fearless leader Max, but you **

**can deal. Apparently I have a new stalker so if**

**you're reading this, Lura, I decline to have sex **

**with you. I think my mom may be a crack head, **

**she's spazing about the fact that I hate my not **

**name 'Connor` . I'll post something more exciting**

**later,**

**I have to get to school soon anyway. **

**-Fang **

"That was one of them wasn't it?" How the he-, "You started freaking out when you read the first line." Zane explained, I started to get lost in my thoughts.

That explained it. But I still didn't care. Had it really been the famous blog that I had despised? Seriously? At least I knew Fang was safe. One down four to go. I still had to somehow check on the other kids before I started crawling the walls, but when I had told Zane about it, he had said it was a bad idea. I had gotten mad and defensive and then we fought, literally punching, kicking, the whole sha-bang, after that we went to a drug store and gotten some food.

"Taking a shower." Zane muttered. He looked at me and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Before he went to the bathroom, he hugged me reassuringly and dropped something cool in the balm of my hand, a skinning knife. It was caked with blood from both Zane and I. We used it for stitches and stuff like that, but upon occasion, one of us would really be boiling over with bottled up emotions, and let me tell you, it takes a lot of a leader to be put out by something as small as emotions; but we both understood why we did it. So it didn't matter to me much.

I dug the knife into one of my non important veins, not the huge ones that the emo's cut on their wrists, more like little slices on my finger tips, see, not as goth as Fang! An achievement I gloated about proudly in my head.

Speaking of my head. . . _Maximum _Right on time.

'Yes?' I asked in my brain. The voice had been coming around at the same time every day, two maybe three o'clock in the morning, basically just before I went to sleep.

_You know this will never work. You need the flock and they desperately need you. _

'Didn't look like it the last time I saw them.' I said tiredly, I started to wash off the knife under a faucet next to the cheap buzzing fridge and microwave. Then I threw it on the top of the open back pack, Zane was the cleaner, so it didn't matter to me much.

_How would you know, you haven't seen them in almost over a year, you missed Angels birthday, you missed Nudges first date, you missed when Fang broke up with his forst girlfriend and then got together with another one two week latter, you even missed when Iggy got his eye operation_.

'Wait what?! Pause and rewind, what operation?' I was starting to panic, what if they had messed up Iggy so bad he wouldn't even have hope with one of those million dolor surgeries?! I only slightly felt weird when the Voice talked about Fang, I was too occupied with Iggy's situation.

_I thought you didn't care._

'I said I was getting over the fact we weren't glued at the hip anymore! **I NEVER SAID I DIDN'T CARE!**' I stopped what I was doing, forgetting it completely after the Voice accused me of not caring about my brothers and sisters.

_Why don't you go and check on him for yourself?_

'If I did, I wouldn't be over them! God. They might not even want to see me. They have _normal_ lives and _normal_ families and _normal_ things any _normal _kid should have. I'm not taking that away from them again.' With that I shut down. Not in a quite literal sense, more like, I laid on the bed and stopped thinking; I was aware of every thought that came into my head but I was also aware of the silence in between each thought. Yoga master Max everyone. Or crack head, either way.

'_What if they hurt him. What if the school got in the hospital data bases of the U.S.,' _Which I knew they could do. '_What if Itex found him.' _That thought stopped me dead, I had to see Iggy, no one else, just Iggy. After that I would go to. . . Russia, Zane and I had been planning to do that for a while. Russia, mostly cold, kind of deserted patches, great food, it was perfect for an Itex base and then the flock would never have to even hear my name again, they didn't even need to think about me. 'I might just sneak in when Iggy's asleep and then come back. Zane doesn't even have to go!'

By then, I had my plan set, didn't matter whether it was completely idiotic, it only mattered that Iggy was safe and that I wouldn't hurt the flock. Well in a figurative way.

Zane stepped from the bathroom, with the clothes that he switched between, on. Yeah, we were that cheap. Switching between two pairs of clothes every couple days maybe a week or two at the most, sometimes we didn't even bother with that.

He gave me a look that said a thousand words in one second, mostly, the main message was, 'Done already?' and 'Need some more time?' I shook my head to the later, cocking a brow at me, Zane sat beside me and were silent. Sometimes we would do a glance-message as I liked to call them. But, overall it was silent and peaceful and I didn't want it to end, sadly, as the saying goes. All good things must come to an end.

It was becoming light outside and we had to crash if we were even going to think of getting to sneak into the New York, Itex. So after Zane turned off the lamp we shared a look of confusion. One bed, no couch. I'm no priss but, I was _not _sleeping on the floor after months of sleeping on foreign park benches I wanted one nigh where I could lay down on a bed and sleep until noon, my perfect day, by Maximum Ride.

So Zane must have had the same notion, because we both glared each other down, at the exact same moment, we looked away, the others glare too intense. Then we both stumbled to the bed already half asleep, and flopped down on the now seemingly soft cushions of the bed. 'It's no Best Western, but I'll deal.' In fact I was grateful, we -the flock and I- all had families and lives and where _a_live and had _time _to live. They had what they always wanted, real families, and I got what I always wanted, the real Max. The one that swore sometimes, the one that liked to watch Disney cartoons whenever there was a TV around the one that didn't mind not being a leader. I loved the fact that Zane and I were co-leaders, when one of us took on too much, off of our shoulders and onto the other guys.

The room was silent and Zane and I were back to back, like the first night I had met him. But this time, we weren't just abandoned mutant bird kids running for their lives and trying to save the world, no; we were abandoned mutant birds kids running for their lives, trying to save the world, and who didn't plan on sleeping on the floor of a cheap hotel room!

With that final thought, I was unconscious and LOOOOOVEING it. Sleep rocks man.

_(Chapter End)_

_Not as long as last time, just about 100 words shorter in fact. I know, long time updating, but I just started this one fic for Uglies and it's being demanded upon because of the shortage of Uglies fics so, yeah. Thank you to all of you who reviewed my first chappie. I'm grateful grateful grateful! I said it three times just so you know! J _

_Siy Rowling? _


	3. You've Got Mail

_My Borders opened again! *does happy dance* I now officially own Maximum Ride Three! I sleep with it under my pillow! Jk. But you get the idea. I got a ton of reviews so I'm updating soon this time. _

_Person95: Shank you! You'll get why I asked who you like better when the gang all meets up again! ;) _

_Alrighty, let's get this gothic bleeding feather filled party started!_

_Siy Rowling?_

_(Chapter Three)_

_**(Angel****P.O.V) **_

I knew she hated us. "And don't you dare touch my china _ever _again. Little brats." Then Mrs. What's-Her-Face clomped out of the room in her three inch heels, thinking mean things about me and Gazzy.

I blinked away the tears and felt the deep scratch that the mean lady had left on my cheek, it was from her sharp gaudy nails that were painted a yucky color of red. Gazzy heard me whimper as I remembered that there was still two days until Mr. Farren got home from his business meeting. Two more days where we had to hide from his sister while he and Mrs. Farren were gone. This sucked.

I curled up on the kitchen floor around the one broken plate, and it looked like cheap china for goddess sakes. We were in our real parents house, but all I wanted right then and there was for Max to hug me and then go and punch that evil lady. That was what Max did best. That lady wasn't my mother, and neither was Mrs. Farren, no matter how nice she was, or her husband, my mom, best friend and protector wa Maximum Ride, and I didn't want to stay here. I should have never left her. I realized.

Gazzy was trying his best to help me, and so was everyone else, they were trying to help us readjust, but no matter how long I lived in that huge beautiful white manson that I had sometimes dreamed of in the past, I would never want anything other than my family, my real family, Max, and Fang and Gazzy and Total and Iggy and Nudge and I. I wanted my family.

And even though I knew I would look like a big baby, I burst into big wet sticky tears. Gazzy patted my back awkwardly, this wasn't what he usually did when I was sad, Max always held be and called me 'Sweetie" and then she would kill the person who made me cry. I wanted Max.

"We have to leave." I said through sobs, Gazzy nodded and then stated sobbing with me. That night, we snuck onto Mrs. Farren' s computer. We only knew how to contact one of the flock, but that was all we needed.

**Fang,**

**Emergency! You know where we are. We need 2 meet. Plea come soon. **

**Angel, and Gazzy **

Then I pressed the little 'send' button and my message was off like a rocket. I had to wait, I hoped Fang was online, in New York it was probably around. . . Six in the morning, so there was a chance he might have been on line. I could probably only risk another two or three minutes on Mrs. Farren's computer if I didn't want to get caught. I had tried not to use mind control, Max didn't like it when I used it, but sometimes, I had to, like this time. So I did. I used it, and in just minutes, Mrs. What's-Her-Face, our baby sitter, was off to the Bermuda Triangle, wherever that was.

_**(Max P.O.V)**_

"_Xera, you can't do this! You can't and you know it!" I screamed, Xera's pure milky white eyes turned to me, as I lay on the ground, bloodied and battered. My light brown hair matted with deep scarlet blood and sweat. Clothes only tatters. Xera's whole being shook when she saw the blood and smelt the fresh fear._

"_I'm doing it aren't I? You're about to die, so is Zane. I'm doing it!" Xera started to laugh uncontrollably, I don't know why, but it only pushed me to try and give Zane more time. He was scudding on all fours to grab the silver gun that lay behind Xera. Flame encircled the whole forest, if anything we were going to catch fire just like the rest of Xera's gang had. _

_Xera stood tall and slight, once fire red hair almost as dark as the blood that covered her mouth and jaw. She was a rouge, and she was going insane. "Xera, you helped us! Remember when you save Zane? It was just before your body rejected the chemical that was going to kill you. You're the one that helped us, just because you're wings are clipped doesn't mean your not still like a sister to me."_

_No matter how hard I tried, I knew Xera wouldn't see reason, why? Xera, the closet thing I had to an older sister, Xera who had helped Zane and I find out about extinction, Xera my best friend, was a rouge, white eyes and all baby. So I also knew what I had to do. _

"_Maximum Ride. I wonder what you taste like." Xera said, bending down and cupping my chin, ruby red hair falling everywhere in a tangled mess. _

"_Cheese burgers and extra fries." Xera snarled at me and I just shrugged, "Hey! I'm only guessing here!" I had been backing up slowly, not able to stand on my broken leg, but when Xera advanced even more, I had no more room to back up, I was leaning hard into a fir tree, its rough bark biting into my skin that was already in ribbons. _

_The older the rouge the more insane, but they had more control, they didn't have to hunt as much, so seeing as she was a fairly old rouge, she couldn't hold out for very much longer. He only thing I could think was, 'Hurry up Zane, hurry up Zane HURRY! UP!'_

"_Xera, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I should have saved you, not Ileta, I'm so sorry." I really was, but if I hadn't have saved Ileta, Zane would have died. I saw something flash in her eyes as human/mutant memories started to poor into her, after that, she was gone. There was no more human in her, she was an animal, just running on instinct, she was the predator, and I was her prey._

_Her bloodied fangs ripped from her gums and her eyes turned coal black with hunger. She readied her muscles and then she pounced. Madly ripping at me searching for my jugular vein, she was stronger than me, faster than me, but I was smarter than her. At that moment, I really thought it was all going to end. As her sharp hunters claws plunged into my flesh and her teeth darted to find my throat. I started to struggle but that wasn't going to work. _

_I wasn't going to scream though. I only thrashed as she wildly tore into me. I felt chunks of flesh peel off and blood gather in the gaping holes. Which just made her more riled up. I pushed and shoved and kicked, I even tried clawing with my non existent nails. None of it was working and Zane was nowhere to be seen. I was going to die. It started to make me sick, I was going to die, oh goth, I WAS GOING TO DIE! _

'_BANG' And everything went silent, even the crackling fire seemed to smoother out, it began to lightly drizzle, I could see it, the bullet had gone all the way through the side of Xera's head. Her body was stiff from the dormant poison freezing in her veins. Her index clawed finger was only centimeters away from my neck, and then her whole body collapsed on itself. It was a mix of some sick black liquid, the chemical that disposed of her body. It soaked into my bloody jeans and left a sickly sweet smell. _

"_Don't mess with my sister." A husky voice hissed. And then, I was running. They were all around me, Xera's gang. I looked in the direction of the shot, and saw a limping Ileta. Her blonde hair cropped short was dirty and bloody and filled with gun powder. Ileta. _

_And they all sprung from their hiding places in the flames. Ileta screamed, I dodged, and Zane jumped to cover Ileta. _

"Max! We have to leave, _now_. We have a rouge pack on our tail and I seriously don't plan on beating up fake cops again, that was really confusing." Zane urgently kicked me in the back and wings, we were camping out in a park that was somewhere in Oregon, probably Salem. Then Zane's words sunk in.

"Shit. Grab the crap and let's get out of here." I said in a hushed but still hurried voice. My rouge dream forgotten. But as we retreated, flying into the open June air. It was chilling me to the bone, but that only made my wings pump faster as we raced from the dangers of the unknown. Rouges. They were us. But they had defects. They were fellow experiments, that had gone wrong and had gotten loose. They had rejected the chemical that Itex had injected into us before we were born, even.

It was so that they could dispose of us when our testing was done. And it usually worked, I had seen it work on many. Except the one time I didn't.

"M. MR. We've got a little problemo." Zane hissed from above me, I glanced up only to come almost nose-to-nose with Zane.

"Which would be. . . ?" I left the question open for answering.

"I don't thing they liked the fact that we ran away." Zane hissed, I jerked around, and found a whole pack of flying rouges, some had wings others were just clinging to the flying ones, waiting for a chance to pounce on the fresh meat. Oh, did I mention who the fresh meat was? You guessed it! Moi.

"I don't like the fact that they're in my personal bubble, but we all learn to live with it. You got any ammo? I've got Tilt." I said under my breath, Zane nodded and handed me two clips of ammo. I shoved one in my back pocket and the other in Tilt, my favorite gun.

I know, 'What about the no-gun rule?' Well that rule went bye-bye when evil, mutant experiments trying to kill anyone, started to chase me around the whole continental U.S. and some of Germany! I started to let the shells fall, only to find, I was going to need a lot of ammo.

Twenty rouges, twenty god forsaken ROUGES and we didn't even have a back up clip! You've got to be kidding me. Rouges were faster, and stronger, than us so overall they were killing machines, which equals, not god for Max and friends!

"Hook!" I yelled, as my last bullet entered the waiting flesh of an unsuspecting rouge. It cried out and fell from the sky, bringing two down with it. Ten left and I was out of ammo. Crap, crap, crap.

We both turned left and glided slightly, this was not, I repeat, was not good. I screamed out more directions, Zane doing the same in return. Co-leaders putting their skills to work. Yeah, we were smooth.

Probably too smooth, because two seconds later we lost each other. A tornado brewing just above our heads. "And of cores." I muttered, of cores it had to be like that, of cores, but in the middle of an attack? God rules a cruel world. The sky turned a darker shape of gray, it almost felt like an eclipse, but I felt my hair whipping around and my wings feeling like they were going to rip off, just like in the wind tunnels back at the School. So it was easier than it should have been to push through the storm. Then, after a minutes, I lost the rouges on my tail, but in their place was pieces of anything that had been laying on the ground.

Left right, I dodged the flying objects. Once or twice I was nicked by them, but nothing too bad. In the end, I ended up flying lower to the ground, it was less of a whipping storm down there. Then I heard screaming. I almost tried to help them. I almost leaped into the air, and tried to pull them out of the tornado, almost. But I watched silently from the ground as the rouges limbs slowly tore off and they were knocked unconscious by the flying pieces of random things.

This couldn't be happening, it too easy. Way too easy. But it was painful. Zane. ZANE!

He could have still been in the storm! Oh god, no, no, no! Not Zane. Please, not Zane,

anyone but Zane. I prayed. He was the only thing keeping me sane. Not him, anyone but

him.

I took cover in a hotel basement, somehow breaking in the window, my mind was too

fuzzy to remember details. But it was safe from the tornado and I could hide, so my

choice was basically made for me. I curled up and prayed, I wasn't sure if there really was

a god, any god for that mater, but I prayed, and I think it was the first time in my whole life, I didn't care if white coats marched right up to me and shoved needles in my arms and neck and legs and started mutating me even more, I didn't care if I was really going to go crazy and most of all, I didn't think about the flock for even one second.

I remember only faintly hearing a whimpering dog-like noise, a crash as the window broke in and then I just let the presence be. I knew it was there I also knew I should have been worried r trying to kill it or something, but I just sat there and thought about how much I whished me and Zane could switch places right then, that second. Soon, I was half asleep, half alret. Always alert, and then something completely weird happened.

There was a sniffing noise in my ear and then mad licking and someone screaming at the top of their lungs. "Oh my goth, MAX! I knew I'd find you! I just knew it! And now I did! I'm so happy! Max! Oh, oh, oh. I'm so- *sob* so- *sob* **HAPPY**_**!!!!"**_ Total started to cry. And I broke out of my not caring trance and started at the Yorkie/Weiner Dog/Mutant mix. I was screwed.

_(End Chapter)_

_I know, I took way too long to update, but I hope I still get reviews! That would be happy-making. Love you all, you're awesome even if you don't review, but I require one review to continue, you know, just to make sure it's not crap and stuff like that. Check out it rocks! I love writing with my play list on! =) happy! Now, let's rumba! I mean. . . I'll update soon?!_

_Siy Rowling? _


	4. Wrong Way Fang

I got one review, yay. J It was kinda weird like one second I get a million reveiws and then I don't get any, could you tell me what I'm doing wrong or something? It's been bugging me all week. So here we go!

Siy Rowling?

(Chapter Four)

**(Max P.O.V) - Salem Oregon**

"_Total?" I asked, my voice kind of thick but not so much someone would have known I had been working myself into a tizzy. Total was still chattering away saying how much he had missed me and he hopped I had missed him. Then he started to coat me in dog slobber. I was frozen in shock until the licking started, I pushed him off slightly and looked at him. _

_His black and brown mix fur was tangled and stringy and clumped in knots, like he had been on the road for months. Why wasn't he with Angel? That little girl would have Total attached to her hip if she could. _

"_Total-" I started hoarsely. Total had begun to run in circles in front of me. I gently stopped him with my foot. By gently I mean, that little bugger was going too fast for me to see him and that made me nervous so I shoved my bare foot in his face to trip him. He yipped and then he tangled his legs together, I watched him with fascination and guardedness, I knew he could be a clone, most likely he __was_ a clone. I had seen many like them. Nudge clones, Gazzy clones, Angel clones, even Fang clones, but something made me stop from cracking this ones neck, it had a look in its eyes that said it was genuinely happy to see me. 

"Max, I was so lost in the hurricane and then I saw someone crawling into he basement and I followed, you saved me. I would have been dead but you saved me!!" With that he leaped into my arms clumsily and started to cry again. 

"Total, what the hell are you doing in Oregon?" I asked, suddenly, when his wise brown Scottie eyes landed on mine, I was positive it was Total. Angels, Total, no faking. I wanted to break down and sob at the reminder of my old life. I didn't feel like Maximum Ride anymore, I felt like a piece of gum that had been chewed up and spit out one too many times. Basically I was angry and sad and jealous and relived and stressed all in one millisecond! Fun with Maxy-kinz, the new and improved cutter version! Whoopie. I wanted to cry, I really wanted to, so badly, but I didn't. I stayed strong and choked back my tears. That very instant I made a promise to myself. I wasn't going to cry anymore. Never again. I wasn't going to be a baby anymore. And most of all, I was going to make sure the flock and Zane and _everyone _was safe. Safe Itex, safe from the School, safe from _reality, _and safe from _me _if that's what it came down to. I would do anything to keep them safe, and then, I had no doubts about what I did next.

"Well, I was with Angel and the-" I stopped him mid-sentence by standing up, setting Total down gently on the floor and striding towards the window. "Max? Max? MAX?! OHMIGOD what are you _doing?! _That's a full blown _TORNADO _out there!"

"Stay away from the window. Duck if there's any flying objects, and whatever you do, _do not _come outside until I give you the signal." With that, I lifted what was left of the broken window and crawled out, leaving Total. I would drop him off at Angels, I don't know how, but I knew she was alive and that she was still at the Farron's house. Just a sixth sense I guess. 

_What if she's in trouble Maximum?_

'_What if you actually shut up Voice?' _I asked snidely. The Voice wasn't going to get anywhere today. I felt the wind whip around me, sometimes so strong it pushed me over, flying wouldn't be an option. I threw off my wind breaker, less weight. Then I started to crawl, looking for anything, with a new determination. 

Eventually, my hands were met with jagged pieces of mirror and my feet with fly debris. I looked up, shoving my hair behind my ear in a pony tail with a string from my wind breaker that would be forever lost. I had to find Zane. Soon, I started to army crawl the wind got so strong though, I was going to just get killed. I huge gust of dirt filled wind pushed me over and then I was rolling, being thrashed every which way the tornado wanted. 

My back slammed into a house, I suppressed a scream, sure that my tail bone was cracked because of the impact on the small brick wall. There was a shed that's door started to swing back and forth, back and forth. My head started to muddle and the wind just kept picking up. _Thump. _My head hit the wall several more times. I growled in frustration as black tried to seep in from the corners of my vision, slowly taking over. 

'_No.' _I thought determined, if I could survive my flock leaving, if I could survive killing on a daily bases, if I could go through all of that and still live with myself, I could live through a small tornado; no problem. Easier said then done, I realized soon after. _Crash! _I choked on the blood that threatened to leak from my throat, a dog crate had just hit my head as hard as anything. I started to crawl towards the barn of the farm house. I could amazingly still hear the _thwapt _of the shed door swinging, it went with my heart beat perfectly, slow then faster then faster than incredibly slow. 

I groaned as a lamp shattered on my back, leaving shards imbedded in my back. I hurt like hell and I wasn't getting anywhere. Flying suddenly turned into an option! I found the wall to the barn useful with helping me stand, then, just when I was about to take off, something, or better yet, some_one _grabbed the ends of my unfurled wings and jerked me back, why hadn't I noticed them before? Good question. 

The hand clasped around my mouth, enabling me from yelling, as if I would. 

"I'm not going to kill you, I just need a donor, just a little bit." A husky voice murmured, breath caught in my throat as I looked at the man. Pale skin, darker hair than original obviously, completely white eyes, and red stains on his two canine teeth. Rouge. I punched and kicked and elbowed and did just about everything you could think, but in the end; rouges are stronger than us mutants, especially when they were hungry. 

He pinned me down all except one of my arms, swiftly, he pulled up the sleeve to my long sleeved shirt and bit into my veins. Something started to pump into my open veins, like a chemical, but it felt good, it made me kind of dopey and happy inside. I know sounds weird, but that's the only way to describe it. Shouldn't blood drinking hurt more, wait, a rouge. . . Was drinking my blood. . . _My blood! _Crap, crap, crap. For some reason, I couldn't move. I was paralyzed. At least I was a happy paralyzed person! I brushed that thought off and my mind started to reel with back up ideas, all would be centered around me being able to fly and having Zane there to help distract said rouge. So. . . I was screwed. . . Big time. 

_**(Fang P.O.V) - China Town, New York**_

Sure it was full of hustlers and junk like that, but I enjoyed China town, it kind of reminded me of how Max and the flock and me were always on the run, always seeing new places, always free. But this time, I had to be home before dawn. That was probably the only rule my mother cared about. Home before dawn. Home before her, more so. If she was home first, she would have to deal with all of the crap laying around and the sink full of dishes and the unwashed sheets and the cab fair that needed to be paid and the rent. 

So that was just about the size of it, I was sitting cross legged in my favorite booth by the window and my absolute favorite food place. New China King. I was friends with the, you guessed it, Chinese owner, or in other words, her daughter had a huge crush on me and they thought if hey gave me food I would declare my undying love for her. I munched on the warm fried rice, another favorite of mine, while I checked my e-mails. 

When I clicked on one from an unknown user, it popped up in bold black letters, when I read who it was from, I spit out my rice and began typing furiously. 

**Angel and Gazzy, **

**I'm in NY. What's wrong? Do u need help? I'm not sure where Max is, but I know where u are. When and Where? Anytime for me any place. **

**Get bak 2 me soon!**

**-Fang**

Seconds latter, I got another e-mail alert. 

**Fang, **

**NOW! Emergency. In big trouble, Total gone, Gazzy and me hurt. COME QUICK!**

**Love Angel**

I typed back, forgetting my rice and my mother and everything else except for the fact that Angel and Gazzy were hurt and I had no clue where Max was. This wasn't working out well. 

**Angel,**

**BTS. Stay put, I see u soon. **

**Fang**

After that, I threw my money on the table, smashed my laptop closed and started to run. I really didn't need anything so I skipped going to my mothers apartment, she wouldn't even notice if I was gone. I would rather be in hell than that place. Then it struck me. 

Where was Max? Had I been so dense that I had forgotten about her? Seriously?! Where did she have to go? What would she do? Max didn't have anywhere to go, she didn't have anything to accomplish except maybe blow. . . Up. . . The School. SHNITZEL! Max was going to get herself killed if she already hadn't! I found a back alley, and just like that, laptop in my backpack I carried around with me out of paranoia, I jumped into the air, wings striking out fast as a snake lashing out. 

I hadn't had a flight in ages, getting caught up in the city hustle and bustle, but when I got higher than the smog, I breathed in the high altitude air and every problem just rolled off of me like butter on hot toast. Was it just me or was I becoming more and more like Max? I shrugged that off and focused as my dull black wings pumped faster an faster until I was sure that I was only a blur in the clouds. Everything felt just great and perfect and awesome. 

That's when I realized, I was going the completely wrong way. 

_**(Iggy P.O.V) - Jefferson, Arizona**_

Even if all I could see was blackness, I was positive that was all I wanted to see. My "home" as my Aunt liked me to call it, was nothing more than a shack in the middle of nowhere. Sure my Aunt was great, she cooked, she sent me to school, she clothed me fed me, etc etc. I hated it here. Too hot, not hot enough, people underestimate me all of the time, and -worst of all- I didn't have _any _of the materials I needed to make bombs! That was what really sent me over the edge that morning. My Aunt was in the kitchen, chattering away like there was no tomorrow, like Nudg-

"THAT'S IT!" I yelled, jumping up from the couch I had been sitting on. I heard Aunt Sol come closer, she crossed her arms and demanded to know what I was talking about, with out thinking I told her my whole plan, she was silent, I waited nervously, cursing my big mouth. Suddenly, I was being choked, not a choke, choke, but a hug choke. 

"Come back time to time, I would really like to meet this Nudge girl, she sounds pretty amazing." I blinked, unnecessarily and ran to my room, grabbed my old back pack that had never been unpacked, and took off through the window without a word or a promise, just the way Max had taught us. Ahh sweet freedom. 

Soon, I began thinking about my newest bomb, wings moving and readjusting courses by themselves, yeah I was _that _good. I had memorized every coordinates on that stupid map, and I didn't need help to find Nudge, you could probably hear her chatter from a mile away. 

_**(Gazzy P.O.V) - Heartland, North Carolina**_

Angel had sent the mean lady away and we had _no _adults! The maids were so scared of the mean lady they had all called in sick and only the cook was left, his name was Greg, he was like, thirty and made amazing pan cakes! But not as good as Iggy' s, my mind reminded me. 

That only helped keep the smile on my face as I flipped through cartoon channel after cartoon channel, humming the bomb national anthem. Nudge had made it up for me and Iggy once, we had kept it, secretly of cores. Nudge wouldn't let us live it down any other way. 

Angel was still on the computer, though I was sure that Fang had said he was coming hours ago. I decided to go check on her. Creeping up Mr. Farron's plush carpeted stair case, I checked all of the rooms that had computers. They were all empty. All but one was left, but I was too scared, it was Mrs. Farron's and Mr. Farron's bedroom. But Angel had to have been in there. 

"Don't be a wimp, don't be a wimp, don't be a wimp, don't be a wimp." I chanted as I slowly opened the glass door. To my relief it was dark, to my surprise, I heard muttering fro the corner the computer was in. I listened instantly as I watched the back of my little sisters head. 

"Om my goth. He did NOT. Hahahahahahaha!" Two seconds latter, "_**You're kidding me! NO MORE UPDATES?! CAN'T THESSE LAZZY WRITTERS WRITE MORE? I WANT MORE FAX!" **_Angel screamed at the top of her sweet voice, I covered my ears, she had learned well from Nudge. Looking over Angel's shoulder, I saw a screen that was mostly white with blue and black letters, all of the titles of what looked to be stories where all purple, I'm guessing that meant they had all been read. The top of the page read, _'Maximum Ride/ ' _wonder what that was. 

"Annnngel?" I said slowly, Angel's head jerked around, her eyes were twitching and she was muttering to herself. Her curly hair was messed up at the scalp from where she had been laying her head on random things, keeping her head up becoming an effort eventually, her eyes were twitching and red rimmed from something, maybe crying, why was she crying? I have no clue. And her face looked pale, how long had she known about this Fanfiction place?

"_What?!"_ She barked, seeing she was confusing me she tried a new approach. "Oh, sorry Gazzy, maybe you could go ask Greg to make some cookies! I'll be off in a while. Just gotta check out this place my e net friend keeps telling me about, YouTube or something like that. Now _go." _

After she said that, I felt compelled to go, mind control. Mind control was supposed to be bad, but if it evolved Greg's home made chocolate chip cookies, I was ok with it!

And so started the age of Fanfiction in the Farron house hold. 

_(End Chapter) _

_Ok, you all knew I had to have that in there at some point, now all I have to do is have Nudge + Coffee! Yay. Lol. Now, I will update sooner with more reveiws, I love you all who review and even you lazy people who don't I understand. I had my laptop taken away because it needed repairs, turns out, when you drop it too much it doesn't work anymore! So I'm finishing this with my sisters laptop secretly! So shhhh. Sorry for the wait. Here you go, Faxness will come with some OC I assure you. _

_Update Soon!_

_Siy Rowling?___


	5. Fantabulicious

_Ok, this is the last chapter I'm going to post without any reveiws, so I need one review to continue, but I understand if it's just something like, -good job- or -you suck- maybe. I'll go with either! :D Anyway, on with the story!_

_Siy Rowling_

_**(Nudge's P.O.V) - Haley, Idaho - 2:04 A.M.**_

I fidgeted under the covers, unable to sleep without someone on watch, I mean, I can sleep, but; it's just weird without someone on watch, if someone was on watch every night at some point for your whole life then you would fidget too! And when I did sleep, my grandma -she told me to call her Nana but it never really stuck- said that I screamed about things, that didn't make sense. But in the morning I never remembered anything.

It was weird but Gran just thought I could see the future which would be super fantabulishous, but that probably wasn't it. I knew they were dreams of the past, I hadn't explained the full extent of what had happened to me while I was on the run; to my Grandparents, I thought it might give them heart attacks or something horrible like that.

My Gran was fantabulishous though, she was spunky and liked to go camping and the farm we lived on was a _lavender _farm. Not just some crappy, chickens and cows farm, but a _lavender _farm_. _I think lavender was my new favorite word. Hmmm. My Grandpa was protective and a little sheepish, whatever that meant. They both loved me, and I loved them, but I could never love them as much as the flock. The flock was my heart and my grandma and Grandpa couldn't fill those shoes, it was wrong for me to even want to leave Max. I had to find her before she did something stupid and impulsive without me!

I loved them I really, really did. But I didn't want to live with them. I would like to visit them, maybe stay for a little while, but I could never ever ever ever stay in one place for so long, it felt weird for me to, and that was exactly what I put in my note to them, explaining why I was gone and that I might be back. With just a few T-shirts, pants I could fight in and a non perishable item or two, I was gone.

But who should I look for first? I thought idily as I crossed the Idaho border. It really didn't matter, but I had a feeling that I was supposed to get Iggy, for some reason. I just knew it. So off I went to find the igg igg igg iggster. My new rap name for him! =) I was happy and I was flying and I was. . . Talking again!

I had gone through a short faze where I didn't speak at all. I really wasn't sure why I didn't talk, I just didn't, then I got enrolled in school. A tear started to roll down my cheek, I would have to leave behind my boyfriend Ryan. He was so sweet. I had even told him about my wings and the only thing he said was that the color complimented my skin! I mean, how perfect could he have gotten. I loved him too, but more like a brother.

I knew who I loved, I knew it with my whole heart and soul and I felt like I needed to sing it for the whole world to know. "I LOVE-" Then something collided with me and we both started to plummet to the ground. I went down screaming the whoooooooole way.

_**(Fang P.O.V) - Chuck, South Carolina**_

I was only two minutes from Angel and Gazzy's new house, so I pushed faster. Something was wrong, it had to be for stoic little Angel to ask anybody for help. And then I saw it in the distance, a huge white mansion, flood lights pointing towards a couple of gardens, that's when the weirdest thing happened. . . A bullet whizzed past my ear.

Jerking around, I wildly looked for the gun wielder, that was when I heard it. The sound of screams and maniac laughing and worst of all snarling, the snarling of an animal. Latter I would find no animals, only more of Itex's mistakes. I found a hoard of flying things, too big to be birds and to small to be missiles I knew, -don't ask-. Some of the mutants were clinging to others, some didn't have wings. Some were so desperate to stay air born that they were screaming.

One jumped from the lead, they weren't regular mutants. It was a male. Huge. Not beefy, but mussel all mussel. He had death pale skin, dark almost too dark brown hair, and his eyes. . . He didn't have irises, he didn't have a pupil, his eyes were completely milky white, nothing but white. And then, the fangs, they looked as if they had ripped from his gums and were blood stained in small spots. Basically straight out of a horror movie!

I would know them as Rouges latter, but then, all I knew was that they had a gun, they were close to Angel and Gazzy, and to top it all of, I thought they were way stronger than me. So I did the only thing I could think to do, I lured them away skillfully. . . So that meant that I flew the heck outta there as fast as I could. I could hear them though.

Coming closer and closer, they were faster than me, so maybe I could be smarter then them. I ducked into the grove of trees below and started to weave, foolishly, they followed hot on my heels. Eventually, I could tell they were getting frustrated so they started to move up, only a few still chasing me. Most of them had left, or so I thought. Suddenly bullets were whizzing past me left and right.

I cried out when something small lodged itself in my right wing, then a warm liquid started to pool in the hole that had been left behind. They'd actually got me! Right then, my world was broken down to one word, _screwed_.

_**(Max P.O.V) - Salem, Oregon **_

I think at some point I blacked out, I gasped in pain as jagged teeth were pried from my wrist and then I was gone. There hadn't really been much blood taken, but the bite of a Rouge stimulated the endorphins, taking you on a kind of high. It felt good on the prey and the predator got an easy meal, just the way Itex designed it.

Blacking out isn't all it's cracked up to be, I mean, one second I'm in pain and then the next I can't even tell what's happening to my own body! How idiotic is that. Alright, Maximum Talk has been shut down, and back to semi-regular cussing new partner Max! Round of applause please.

My mind was fuzzy, but it was becoming clearer and clearer. I had been bitten and I was still alive? That was the thing that freaked me out the most, I was still alive? Or was I dead? Shit! Zane was going to kill me for being dead! -If you can figure out what that means there's a prize on its way to your house right now-

I started to struggle against the hold sleep had on me, it was like swimming through malaises, I knew from experience. . . Don't ask. Then I broke through the barrier that kept me from the real world. I was still on the barn floor, but this time, I was bleeding openly.

I couldn't move, I was basically helpless, the predators poison still corseing through my veins. My mind was frantic and it was chaos everywhere else. I vaguely remember something in the back of my mind telling me that it was the tornado that had pulled the Rouge from my wrist, and that the roof of the barn had been torn off and I didn't seem to be in a very safe position; sprawled out in the middle of a roofless hut. The last thing that my brain comprehended was that I was going to bleed out.

Well that was a cheery thought!

_(Chapter End)_

_**Soooooo sorry, it has been forever since I updated and now I have a suckishly short chapie, please forgive me! I need one review to continue, I know, I'm too demanding, but please?! I have really no excuse except that I'm lazy and I have to get all A's in school to keep my laptop, other than that. . . So here you go! **_

_Siy Rowling?_


	6. There's No Place Like Home

_I got two reviews! Happy. Anyway. . . I really don't have anything to say. . Well. Oh! Oh, yeah, I need at least one review to continue thank you. Now. . . On wit de story! _

_My favorite song that I read while writing this, "Jackie Chan" by 'The Dollyrots' yeah it's awesome. :D_

_**Siy Rowling?**_

_(Chapter Six)_

_**(Gasman P.O.V) - Chuck, South Carolina **_

I waited in the corner of the living room, scared to death of my little sister and that weird site fanfic or something retarded like that. I watched the window like it was a life or death situation, which it might when it comes to the older kids, they always seemed to bring trouble; not that I was complaining or anything.

Then I saw it, a V39 explosion coming from the sky. For you less smart dweebs, in bomb language, that means, really _**really **_biiiiiiiig. Or at least, that was how Iggy had explained it. I pouted, remembering my partner, sure Max was our leader, but Iggy was my hero. He learned how to create bombs just by touch and sound, not once seeing a thing he was doing. Not _that's _what I call awesome.

Back to the really big explosion, Angel came crashing down the stairs in pajama bottoms and a pink t-shirt, her eyes were bulging and she was screaming something fast and loud. I tried to get her to calm down. After a moment she was calm enough to shriek.

"Fangisoutther!YouhavetogogethimGazzy,he'sgonnadie!" Which I eventually translated as. "Fang is out there! You have to go get him Gazzy, he's gonna die!" She had certainly taken lessons from Nudge.

"I- but. V8 EXPLOTION OUT THERE! Ange, are you sure Fang is out there?" I hoped desperately for a 'no' or a 'you've just been punk'd' neither came.

"YES! It was Fang, I'm sure of it. Only Fang and Max swear in their heads when they get really pissed." I glared at her language and gulped, could I do it? Whatever had caused that explosion wasn't small, and it could probably beat the crud out of me. But Angel was counting on me. I was her big brother! I had to help somehow. The only thing that came to mind was. _Get Max. _But that was out of the question. Max was. . . Where _was _Max anyway? I had somehow forgotten about her during our little vacation.

"That's not important now." Angel growled hugging Celeste closer to her stomach. I made up my mind then. I was going to go help Fang. I had to. It was my duty. The only problem, I was frinkin' _scared._

_**(Max P.O.V) - Salem, Oregon **_

Moving was a definite problem. I had lost so much blood that my brain wasn't working properly anymore. Coming up with no more than obsolete sentences and escape routes that were embedded into my brain. _Two lefts, six rights and out the glass wall. _From Room 2310, one of the many rooms we had stayed at in the school, constantly moving. _Three hundred paces to the right and out the unlock able doors. _From a hotel room Zane and I had stayed in, in Brooklyn only a couple of weeks prior. _Three blocks down and the biggest house on the right. _The Martinez's house in Arizona. . . I think. . . Maybe. Probably not, but that was the story I was sticking with!

Then with a sudden burst, everything played before my closed eyes. My whole sad, soap opera-y life. The first memory I ever had. . .

_I was on cold hard table, thin, pale arms and legs strapped down by metal ringlets that were just the right size. . . For an anorexic person. I was only three or four. Being so young I thought it was normal for everyone to go through this pain. It was in my left hand. That was before The School had really been supported by federal funds, so I was going through major surgery antiseptic less. Fully awake then, I jerked my head around to look at my arm, a couple of big men in white lab coats were cutting it open, ignoring my struggling. _

_They were cutting open my arm and inserting something, it felt like it was the size of a pill that they had given me once and I felt the wires sticking out of it. As the two men attached it to my forearm, its wires turned to tentacles and burrowed deep into my muscles and veins. I tried not to scream as they poured searing hot and blistering cold chemicals into my open wound. . . _

That was the day I promised I was going to be strong, the day I promised, no matter what, I wouldn't give a crap about what anybody thought or felt as long as I saved my freaky butt. Latter the flock would be added to the list of people to save and the girl Ella and Dr. Martinez as well. But that was the day, I became Maximum Ride. Forever and always.

Then the last real memory that would always stick with me, even in a death like state that I had been in.

_Zane laughed as the ice-cream slithered down my face. I glared at him, flinging a handful of my pumpkin icy goodness at his face. Bulls eye. Straight in the forehead. It was my turn to laugh then, tears streaming from my eyes eventually, light brown hair falling over my shoulders as I leaned over, forgetting the pumpkin ice-cream in my hands and strawberry on my face. Zane scowled, then an evil grin slipped onto his face. Uh oh. _

_I shot up from my seat on the Dairy-Queen outdoors place that we had been resting at, and started to run, angling so I was going towards the woods. That was how our little game of Tag had started earlier. My feet pounded on the pine needles and I didn't look ba-_

My lungs itched and I tried to inch to a safer corner. Just to tell you. . . Bleeding equals not fun during weather hazards for Max. Though I felt a tugging in the back of my mind. Forgetting everything else, I focus all of my attention on the tugging. Weakly looking down at my pant leg where the tugging was coming from, I jerked in surprise, adrenaline suddenly taking hold. Total yipped and nipped my legs, eagerly trying to make me get up faster. . . Wait. . . Total?! I stumbled to my feet and looked down at the little dog, getting over a major head rush.

"Max, I thought you were _dead_." The Yorkie squeaked, I rolled my eyes lazily, and started to walk, the wind pushed me back down and pulled me back in again. Note to self, stand in major tornado, never good. I was lifted off of the ground and thrown around some more. Before I knew it, Total was flung into the air as well and we were lifted out of the barn and around everywhere. Shit, shit, shit. I tried to whip out my wigs and maybe help myself navigate a little, but that was a fruitless dream as I was thrashed into the roof of a house. The air was knocked out of my lungs and I swear I heard a bone crunch.

Blood loss, injuries and sleep deprivation all added up and knocked me out. The last thing that ran through my mind was, _I hope Zane makes it through this. _

_((((End Chapter)))_

_**Ok I know ridiculously short and kind of stupid, flame me if you want. I'm a bad writer. I feel horrible and I have no excuse. If I can I'll update again this weekend. I need one review to continue. If I have any reviewers left. Man I suck! Faxness is definitely coming up but also some Zax too. So be prepared **_

_Siy Rowling?_


	7. Silver Chains

_So I got a review, I'm very happy, -does happy dance- now I'll continue on with the story. :D _

_Siy Rowling_

_(Chapter Seven)_

_**(Fang P.O.V) - Ralph, Philadelphia - Two Months Later**_

Almost a whole freaking year after the Flock was separated and still no Max, still no Total and Gazzy is still trying to work around his disability that it completely all my fault. Well hell. Two months back Gazzy, Angel and I got together again. But it seemed to come at a price, because when Gazzy came to try and save me. . .

_The odd experiments gone wrong had been able to pin me, it seemed to be leering at me. I struggled even more but the thing just increased the pressure on my neck. Two seconds latter I saw a small explosion. An explosion of what you ask? Of Gazzys namesake. I glared at the thing that was on top of me. It wasn't human but it had some human characteristics. It had a women body, head, even the face of a human girl, but the eyes and pale skin gave it away, the blood red empty eyes and starch white skin. _

_Just as the thing bend its head to my neck most likely to rip my throat out; Gazzy came bursting through the trees and dive bombing the creature like nobodies business. It hissed and then clawed at him with ripped, dirty, long fingernails, he turned just in time to get lashed in the wing, latter we would find out from the School that the nails had been poisonous and he would never be able to truly heal until Max came back with the cure. Which we were pretty sure would never happen. _

_The Gasman screamed out, long and loud. And that was when I truly found out that Max would always be a better leader than me. That was when a small part of me started to grieve that I couldn't do more. That was when I truly wanted my Maximum Ride back. . . _

I looked over at the two who were cuddling together trying to keep warm. After that night we were just staying away from the experiments by the skin of our teeth. We were in Philly visiting one of my gang friends who I had met over my "normal phase" I liked to call it.

His name was Tristan. He liked to be called Tie, but no one ever did, to his disappointment. We were in his crappy apartment crashing for the week; taking a short vacation. If Max were still there, we would have kicked our butts into high gear after the whole freaky experiment thing, and I tried my best to be like Max, but sometimes, it was harder than it looked. I sighed and started to type wha I was up to on my blog. After a short update, I checked my feedback. In big bold generically red letters that had six urgent flags next to it the subject title read,

_**They have Max! They have Max! They have Max!**_

I opened up the e-mail immediately.

_Fang,_

_You don't know me, but I know you. Maximum Ride is my best friend and we have recently been separated. While I've been searching for her, I found she was captured by a group of. . Malfunctioning Experiments that we call Rouges. If we don't act soon Max will die. No one can know I sent you this e-mail. It will be erased as soon as you click the back arrow. Meet me in Huston Texas in two days. Around the cemetery, I'll know you when I see you. Any later and it will be too late._

_Zane_

Crud, I was _screwed!_

_**(Max P.O.V) - Yalger, Connecticut**_

Ever since Zane and I had been separated nothing had been the same. In the hurricane two months ago, Total had made me pull my sorry butt to safety, Zane had already left by the time we got back to the bench we had been sleeping on. Total had assured me that we would find him but, surprise, surprise, Zane was no where to be seen, he wasn't even in _Belgium! _That was our meeting place.

As I stumbled down the icy cold street, I gritted my teeth, what was my next move? Total was back at the hotel, lets face it, a Scotty dog trying to fight a bunch of Rouges on the streets of Connecticut? Not something that you would want to deal with either. He would be a snack pack in a second flat. I was planning to leave him on Angel's doorstep the next day, cause he was probably the worst partner in crime ever. Way worse than Zane, or Fang, or Ruby.

I winced at each name. Fang, my first right hand man who had found his family and forgotten me, Zane, who had deserted me after a tornado in Kansas and Ruby, my most resent partner, she had been three, maybe four, able to talk in complete sentences and very bright for her age, she had died right before my eyes. Rouges caught up with us and one had a gun, I didn't see it in time, the shot was aimed at me, and then Ruby jumped in the way. The last thing she told me was that she just wanted to be as brave as me in the end. Apparently Itex had sent her to trap me. And she had gone along with it until the very last moment. My life sucks balls. But I deal with it. . . To an extent.

Angel lived in South Carolina so I didn't have to go far the next couple of hours and some super speed should make the time just seem like nothing. My super speed was becoming more controlled, I could automatically know how much I did so that was a plus. But other than that, I had only destroyed a couple Itex's and twenty-three covens of Rouges. That wasn't a lot when it came to Rouges, seeing as they were just experiments gone bad.

Basically, Rouges were us. Recombined DNA Experiments. But when they got their Expiration Date's, the chemical that shut down their bodies got rejected and the blood and poison seem to blend together to make something new. I had never been put through the pain of my very being changing but it sounded kind of unpleasant. You're skin became thinner, your eyes lost all color completely, turning so clear that it looked wrong and after you drank from your first prey then they turned the black of charcoal and then so dark red it was hard not to get hypnotized by them. Another power of a Rouge. Oh yeah, did I mention they had powers all their own? Well they do. Also, they could make themselves whatever they wanted, some people called them shifters, though I preferred blood-thirsty freaks.

Being alone sucked. But I was doing it well enough, slowly though, I was learning how to deal with things by myself, it was hard, so hard sometimes I wanted to cry, but I never broke my promise, no more tears were shed, no a one, for a while, I felt like I had completely dried of tears, and now, I took that as a good thing and I relished in it when I heard the flap of another birds wings close to mine, or when a little girl passed me with her older sister or brother. It hurt like hell, but I was getting through it one second at a time.

While I thought all of this over something happened, and if I had been paying even and ounce of attention, I would have been half way to Mississippi by the time the Rouges swooped down upon me. But I wasn't so they did.

Mark, I knew him from his pre-Rouge days, hit me feet first in the chest. My breath whooshed out and I crumpled, but I was able to pulled his leg with him, throwing his transparent bat-like wings off of balance and he landed on me with a '_thud' _And then they all gathered around me, they had come prepared, they had chains, not flimsy rope.

Rouges had begun to become. . . Smarter lately. Like they had formed, rules. A community. They even had bounty hunters now! Wait. . . Bounty hunters. My face. . . On a frinkin' poster I had just brushed off. S.H.I.T! I had just made my own fate by not paying attention to my own freakin' surroundings! How dense and stupid and pathetic and-and- and, well I could probably think of a million different names to call myself that would get me out in jail! But that wasn't the point, the point was, I was under Rouge control as soon as they had those shackles on my wings, wrists and thighs. They had grown more intelligent wich meant they had learned how to speak, very quickly. Now I was basically stuck with a bunch of screw ups. G-R-E-A-T.

"We've got 'er. No, she didn' pu' up much of 'er fight." Laughed one with a weird accent into a walkie talkie. I growled, and as they all backed away and started slapping high fives, I took my chance. They had left my right hip unchained, stupid bastards. I wiggled my hand a little and grabbed the gun that was always stationed on my left hip, good ol' Tilt. Then I shot the Rouge with the walkie talkie straight in the place where the heart is supposed to be. He was down for the count. There was a completely serial moment, no one moved or spoke, not even me. Then all hell broke loose.

_**(((Chapter End)))**_

_Ok, next chapter, things will get a lot more interesting. . . Trust me. Here's a sneak peak of next chapter!_

_**(((Chapter 8)))**_

"Come on Marko, Baley won't have to know! Just one bite. We haven't stopped for a snack in a while." I heard outside of the little ward/circle, thing that was trapping me. Well hell!

"I'm Zane." I tried to be as polite as possible, but seeing the bastard that hurt my Max, it was hard, just trust me. 

"Fang." Was the only thing he said, I already didn't like this guy.

"Iggy! We have company!" My voice rung throught the California street. Everything was quiet but then '_BOOM' _And the fight began. 

_TA-DA! I need one review to continue and I'll update faster this time. Tell me if you don't like where the story's going cause I was planning on a triangle you know the whole, Zane-Max-Fang thing, but you can always tell me if you just want Fax or Mane. _

_Siy Rowling._


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